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Re: Russell Apiaries

You appear to be the one that is bringing up quality of the product. It's reasonable to ask what basis you have for evaluating the quality of the product. If you have not seen the product first hand, how can you evaluate it? How can you claim it is "equal" to others in the industry?

To talk about the customer service, when you have not experienced it first hand, or to talk about the quality of the product as it relates to others in the industry, when you have not experienced it first hand, is a little beyond the point of a consumer reports thread, is it not?

Re: Russell Apiaries

Originally Posted by Barry

Like me asking you have you purchased a queen from Weavers or Koehnen or Glenn or Rossman or Kona.
Oh, I forgot . . . Olivarez, VP Queen Bees, Purvis . . .

I don't understand your point. This thread isn't about the Weavers, Koehnen, Glenn, Rossman, Kona, Olivarez, VP Queen Bees, Purvis, or any other provider. The subject line is very clear. It's about Russell, his company, his product, and his customer service. If you haven't ordered from him, haven't tried his product, and haven't experienced his customer service, why are you evaluating the same?

Re: Russell Apiaries

Originally Posted by Specialkayme

You appear to be the one that is bringing up quality of the product. It's reasonable to ask what basis you have for evaluating the quality of the product. If you have not seen the product first hand, how can you evaluate it? How can you claim it is "equal" to others in the industry?

What basis do you have for "evaluating the quality of the product"?

I've purchased bees and queens from various suppliers, some that I listed.

Re: Russell Apiaries

Originally Posted by Specialkayme

If you haven't ordered from him, haven't tried his product, and haven't experienced his customer service, why are you evaluating the same?

Listen, this thread isn't about you or your experience, so quit trying to make it that way. I responded to the OP, who had a negative experience with customer service. Being one of the members here, I have every right to give my thoughts on the topic. If you don't like the customer service, go somewhere else to buy your bees. Talk with your money. You then made a judgment call saying his bees were so much better and worth putting up with poor customer service. So I asked you, have you experienced firsthand bees and queens from the other suppliers I listed? If not, you have no basis for your evaluation. Get it?

Re: Russell Apiaries

Originally Posted by Specialkayme

I don't understand your point. This thread isn't about the Weavers, Koehnen, Glenn, Rossman, Kona, Olivarez, VP Queen Bees, Purvis, or any other provider. The subject line is very clear. It's about Russell, his company, his product, and his customer service. If you haven't ordered from him, haven't tried his product, and haven't experienced his customer service, why are you evaluating the same?

Then ask me ...customer service ,,, none,,,product ,,yes they are bees ..

Re: Russell Apiaries

Barry isn't saying that Russell's bees and service aren't good. Others are. Barry is just pointing out that there are TONS of other choices and that until people try ALL of them, THEY can't say that one brand or another is the BEST quality. If you don't like the service at one place, go to another. If you don't like the quality at that place, go to another. There are tons to try. You might find out that someone out there will provide all the points that you are looking for. Like on Seinfeld, anyone can make the same product as the Soup Nazi, you just need to look around and try different places.

If you are willing to put up with the service because you think it's the one you like, then great. As said before, Russell's has more orders than they can keep up with so they aren't going anywhere any time soon. You just might not either if they can't get to you until the next year.

Re: Russell Apiaries

I work at Russell Apiaries part time. What is it that you guys are needing? A confirmation email for your order? Check your spam box, those emails are automated by paypal. We would be able to respond to people a whole lot faster, but unlike ALL of the other guys that were mentioned, Russell doesnt just help people that are paying him. We receive hundreds of emails every day this time of year from people in all parts of the world asking for advice. Like Russell says, This isnt walmart. If you just want a click and ship product and service, go get it elsewhere. We dont do that. The only reason that we have a website putting our queens out there for just anyone to buy is because Russell likes to help folks so much. Its not for the money, trust me. I saw the year end reports and there was a really big drop in profits after all of the extra expense of trying to cater to the "click and ship" public. We were all shocked when he just said, oh well buckle in and press on. His losses were like four times what my husband and myself bring in in a year. It would have been much more easy and profitable for him to just say NO and stick to providing the large commercials but he takes the hit for the little guys like us to have high quality queens from stocks that havent been crossed with russian bees. Dont see Russell on this site anymore do you? Can you blame him?

Re: Russell Apiaries

Barry constantly makes snide remarks about Russells and other commercial beeks. It will be a definate loss in quality if Dr. Russell has decided he is not welcome here. As the lady said, he ain't walmart and it surprised me when he was still filling the onsies and twosies orders this year. I am just real happy to get the genetics and when I was trying to raise wheat for a living, I couldn't harvest it before it was ripe. They wouldn't take it at the elevator til the misture content was low enough for the grain to store. A supplier can't sell a queen til it is well mated and laying well. It is unfortunate that his office staff is buried. But I don't think he is in the business of defrauding anyone. The majority of his customers are happy or he wouldn't be grafting 150,000 cells a year. That is a WAG! But it has to be close to that.

Re: Russell Apiaries

HAHA! I just told him about this thread and he said, Some folks like changing tires so they buy may-pops and some folks like replacing hives so they buy whatever is cheapest from who ever has them. Then he said, I buy tires that I can depend on to keep my family safe and if I have to wait for them because they are on back order, so be it. That just means that the company is taking their time and doing things right and they are staying sold out because the product is excellent. He finished with saying, dont worry there are more people out there that are more concerned with getting safe tires than there are risking their wives and kids. Most of our customers depend on their bees in one way or another and some feed their families on that income just like we all do here. they will always choose to a productive hive over a quick response.

I asked him if I could quote him on that and he just shrugged his shoulders and walked off so there you have it. I think that he makes a good point about who should order from him and who should go get may-pops.

For the record, he buys queens to test from all over every year and never hurries any of the suppliers. I my self tried to get breeder queens from Glen, queens from honeyrun apiaries, and queens from zia and vp to play with and never had any response to several emails and phone calls. Its just the nature of the business. At walmart the items are made by someone else then sold by walmart. Here we make the product and sell it, so we can only do so much at one time. He will be traveling again soon and even we will not be able to reach him. He creates great queens and that is where he needs to be, not on the phone talking about them but in the field producing them.

Re: Russell Apiaries

Originally Posted by TwinkieBee

We would be able to respond to people a whole lot faster, but unlike ALL of the other guys that were mentioned, Russell doesnt just help people that are paying him. We receive hundreds of emails every day this time of year from people in all parts of the world asking for advice.

That's his choice to do that. But to use this to excuse those that are experiencing poor customer service and put down ALL the other bee producers is quite arrogant to say the least.

Re: Russell Apiaries

Originally Posted by Barry

Listen, this thread isn't about you or your experience, so quit trying to make it that way.

Seriously Barry? You are trying to flip this on me?

You mentioned speaking with your money. I agreed. More room for me in the market. I know what I'm getting, and I'm happy with it. If that means you don't want to order from them, I'm more the merrier for it. You then told me the quality was the same as others. But you have no basis for this, as you have never tried his product. How is that based on my experience?

Originally Posted by Barry

You then made a judgment call saying his bees were so much better

Please find me a quote in this thread where I said that. This is what I've said:

Originally Posted by Specialkayme

Service might not be stellar, but the product more than makes up for it.

I said his bees were good. I never said they were "so much better" nor did I compare it to anything. Read before you so quickly comment.

Originally Posted by Barry

So I asked you, have you experienced firsthand bees and queens from the other suppliers I listed? If not, you have no basis for your evaluation. Get it?

Sure. A reasonable request.

I have ordered from Kona, Rossman and Olivarez, from those you have listed. I have also purchased from Bjorn, 7 Stands (running a line from Glenn), and Jack Tapp (running a line of MH). I have not purchased any queens from any other suppliers you have mentioned. I would concede that I have just as much right to compare Russell queens with them as you do . . . but last time I checked I wasn't comparing the two . . .

Re: Russell Apiaries

Originally Posted by Barry

Please quote me.

Ok, the post directly above your quote me post. So now you are calling him arrogant because he helps bee keepers? No one made any excuses for poor customer service and I have Never heard him say anything bad about Any other producer. Most are his close friends. Your right about one thing, it Is His choice to decide what is most important to him and operate his business the way he wants to, not yours. Your presence in this conversation is evidence of your personal issue with him and better proves Vancegs point anyway. You have never had any experience with the company, but you sure rushed to make a bunch of negative posts about it and overexagerate the issue in the thread from a simple filtered email that was addressed as soon as I saw it to customer service issues that you keep throwing around.

Yes I beleive that Russell Queens are the best in the nation. I know I can count on them in my hives, but do not know about the others. And no I have never used the others, but I work with them every year in the test yards and see first hand what percentages of losses they have. Have you never read the stories on your own site? There are plenty of them. We work with most all of the people that you listed but yes a few of those are what I would call may-pops and that is MY opinion not Russell Apiaries and I only say that because I have personally worked with them.

Please do not start trying to tell me what my job is. I know my job very well and I respect the girls and guys that work here fulltime who work their rear ends off only to have someone that has never even bought from the company to start pointing fingers at who he thinks is a weak link. For your information, we took 4 phone calls Today that insisted that they speak with Russell to ask his opinion before they placed an order. There were 211 emails Today and thats a slow day. 49 of those emails requested a response from Russell directly. That leaves 77 phone calls answered by myself and another staff member and we got our quota of 140 emails each answered. Then I picked up my sons from school, got them home and started supper and a load of laundry so my husband will have clean close for work, and sit down to read the forums while the boys cleaned up for supper. And what does beesource have for me to read? The site owner insuating that I am not doing my job. Russell is reserved, I am a proud southern woman and will roar back when needed, so please point your crooked finger elsewhere.

Re: Russell Apiaries

Originally Posted by TwinkieBee

Your presence in this conversation is evidence of your personal issue with him . . . You have never had any experience with the company, but you sure rushed to make a bunch of negative posts about it and overexagerate the issue